Nikol Duman House Museum helps boost Artsakh tourism potential and diversification: director
Nikol Duman House Museum on Stepanakert-Gandzasar motorway has become a pilgrimage site for tourists visiting Nagorno Karabakh. The visitors can see the life of a restored 19th century Karabakh village: the life of a 19th century Artsakh village with its structures of historical and cultural value and home appliances was restored on a short streets). Museum guests can also learn of the main stages in Nikol Duman’s activities. Panorama.am spoke with the director of Nikol Duman House Museum Maria Soghomonyan.
“Nikol Duman House Museum was set up on the 90th anniversary of the death of famous military and political figure Nikol Duman who was a participant in the national liberation struggle of the Armenian people. The house museum and the ethnographic district were created by Artsakh’s Tourism Development Agency with the support of Boniatyan and Erikyan families and many other benefactors. From the very beginning the museum aroused great interest of Artsakh residents and tourists. As a unique tourist attraction, the ethnographic museum helped boost Artsakh’s tourism potential and diversification.
Thousands of visitors from Artsakh, Armenia and abroad have seen the museum since its foundation 12 years ago. The number of visitors grew by 15-20 % annually. The ethnographic complex welcomed 7,000 visitors in 2015,” the director said, adding that at first most of the visitors were from Artsakh, Armenia and the Diaspora, but later foreign guests started showing interest in the complex.
Speaking about the museum replenishment, she said: “The museum fund was mostly replenished by the Tourism Development Agency, but some of the exhibits in the ethnographic district were donated by Tsakhkashat residents. Over 200 exhibits are displayed in the complex”.